Principal’s Report

Safety in the Community

Events over the last couple of weeks have certainly brought attention to the need to be alert and aware of your surroundings when moving about. It is unfortunate that there are those in society who do not respect others and have little regard for laws that are in place to protect the community. I urge all parents to talk with their child(ren) about what they should do if confronted by strangers when moving about within the community. This is particularly pertinent during the school holidays where there are considerably more young people moving about.

All visitors to the main office

In relation to the above re safety it has been noted that there has been an increase in parents coming up to the school and not reporting to the main office at the front of the school. As you could imagine the event of an unknown person entering a school building during the day is not a scenario we wish to face. Can I remind all parents coming for meetings, when collecting sick children etc to go directly to the main office on arrival. We will notify any required staff of your arrival/locate children for you. Please do not enter other buildings. We thank you for your cooperation with this procedure.

Parent Payment Policy

In term four parents will receive information regarding parent payments for 2024. Many of the additional programs we run and the level of staffing in areas such as wellbeing, additional support in literacy and numeracy, first aid officer, IT support and hardware, music, sport etc are able to happen because our families contribute via the essential learning and school council contributions. As previously spoken about the updated policy marked these contributions as voluntary. As such, we have seen a dramatic decrease in payments by parents. We have been able to cover the shortfall this year but this will be unsustainable into the future. If parents do decide to not contribute via these payments then the effect on our budget/cash flow and what we can provide in terms of programs, activities and resources for students will be significantly compromised.

Staffing

During term 2 we looked at the leadership structure and after consultation with staff decided to alter some of the responsibilities of the Assistant Principals in reflection of the new Strategic Plan which was the result of the School Review last year. The end result was the creation of a fourth Assistant Principal position. This position was advertised and the successful applicant was Mr Aaron Petersen who is currently an Assistant Principal at Glen Eira College and will commence at Parkdale Secondary College in 2024. His portfolio will include the Senior School and Student Voice and Agency. At present Mr Jamie Cumming is in the acting role for this position. Mr Michael Tuck takes on the portfolio of Teaching and Learning, Mrs June Sainsbery the portfolio of Junior School and Inclusion and Mrs Melissa Treverton the portfolio of Operations and International Students.

Year 7 2023 Information Night

This was held on Wednesday 13th September. It was a pleasure to welcome the 2024 Year 7 cohort of students to the College. We look forward to working with these students and their families in the years to come.

VM Presentation Night

The Y12 VM students showcased their presentations on Thursday 7th September. It was terrific to see each student present their project with pride to their classmates and parents. The VM students will complete their schooling at the end of term three and we wish them all the best as they finish this phase of their educational journey.

Year 9-12 Subject Selections

This process is now concluded. We are currently working on the blocking grid so as to maximise the first choices of students. This is an extremely complex task and there are inevitably problems that cannot be resolved within the confines of the initial student selections. In year 11 and 12 if subject selections cannot be accommodated then students will be spoken with by the senior school team. In year 10 and year 9 if elective choices are not available students will be placed into one of their reserve choices in the first instance. If this does resolve the issue then the affected students will be consulted. This process is almost complete and now the task of allocating teachers classes has commenced. From this our staffing requirements for 2024 will be known. We can then advertise for teachers to cover any shortfalls. It is hoped this process is concluded early in term four.

Building Report

We are continuing to have conversations with the Victorian Schools Building Authority and the architect about the completion of the ground works and the refurbishment of the toilet block. This has progressed, albeit slower than hoped, to the point where we now have the go ahead to finalise the plans and costings so the work can go to tender.

Sport

It has been an exceptional couple of weeks for our sporting teams. The Senior Girls AFLW team won the state championship and I congratulate them and their coach, Mr David Bose, on this achievement. The girls represented the college with pride and the way they conducted themselves throughout the games in a positive way was commented on by officials.

The intermediate girls netball made the semi finals of the state championships and as with the girls AFLW represented the college in exemplary fashion. They were extremely disappointed to lose the semi final but should be proud of their efforts to reach that level.

The Kingston division athletics were held on Thursday 24th August in windy conditions. There are 25 students who have qualified for the region championships to be held in week 1 of term 4 and we wish them well as they strive to qualify for the state finals.

Term Three Break

The September term break is nearly upon us. As with each year there will still be staff and students in the school during this time. In particular year 12 students will be completing practice exams in the second week of the term break. As I said to the Year 12 cohort who are undertaking VCE Unit 3/4 subjects earlier this week it really is a break in name only. The SACs are done and now the focus is on the upcoming final examinations.

I take this opportunity to wish all members of our school community a safe and relaxing break.

Textiles

By Kathleen McKinna